Bruce Davidson is best known for his subway photographs, his images are of everyday subjects within a very popular form of transport in New York. His images have distinct viewpoints focusing on different people using the underground which makes each image so different whilst still being in the same location. This urban, portrait image in particular is of a family on a dull graffitied tube in New York. The dull, man made lighting within this photograph creates a somewhat eerie atmosphere on the tube as the dull lights on the tube create a green tint to the image. The two adults fit into the rule of thirds making them the main view point off the image creating more of story to the characters themselves. This image is underexposed due to the image being very dark which links to the point about the dull lighting as this effect creates an eerie mood to the image.The colours within the image contrasted with the dim lighting allows for the subjects to stand out from the dull, graffitied background. This image looks to be quite grainy suggesting that it could be taken on a film camera rather than a digital camera, as this picture was taken in the 1980s it is more evident that this image could  be taken on film. The fact that the subjects within this image are evenly spaced out with the child in the middle allows for three different viewing points when looking at this image. However, the photograph is not even and consist of a slight slant within the image. I feel this doesn’t work so well as when looking closer into the image everything in the picture from the signs in the background to the seat they are sitting on becomes uneasy on the eye as the image is not symmetrical. This photograph has a mysterious feel to it due the normal looking family on the misleading looking tube as this family look like tourists who could be on a tube in the wrong area.

Alex Webb’s work consists highly of coloured documentary photography in foreign countries such a Haiti in particular. Each image from his shoot consist of vibrant bright colours with numerus viewpoints throughout. The sharp natural lighting within the image enhances the bright colours on the wall allowing for the wall to stand out and create a strong viewpoint to focus on. The viewer is automatically directed towards the wall due to the bold colours. However, when looking at it closer, the image opens up and directs you to a mixture of personalities from the suspicious man on the left to the smiling girl running out the frame. These different personalities create a strong contrast towards each other as well as creating more of a story behind the image. The broken wall symbolizes freedom as they are able to pass through without being stopped by the wall. This naturalistic photograph clearly represents these people’s everyday lives just from capturing where they live in this rundown looking town. Formal elements play a large part in the image due to the repetition of colours and shapes that are seen throughout. This picture is different from real life because not everyone lives like this and the way Alex Webb has captured this image allows us to have more of an insight into the way these people live. Webb has done this to show the viewer what is actually happening and how it can be compared to our lives in such a dramatic way.

Mark power ‘Die Mauer ist Weg!’

      Die mauer ist weg - The wall is gone

Die Mauer ist Weg! by Mark Power has a distinctive documentary approach as the images used are focused around the happening involving the taking down of the Berlin wall.  The books title has strong connotations focusing on the fact that they have regained there free dome due to the fact the wall is gone.  While the early pages read as news-based photojournalism from the anticipating news and the celebrations. However, as the book unfolds Power retreats away from the epicenter of the event to re-camp over the border in an almost desolate East Berlin. From there he views the story from another perspective, before embarking on a  search for Bertolt Brecht’s grave.

The book is both a record of a major 20th century news event and also a piece to project the lessons learnt from the experience as, in the accompanying essay, Power recounts his fascinating tale of chance and choice.

The silkscreen front and back cover is the newspaper from that specific event. The silkscreen print on the front allows for the newspaper to stand out on the cardboard shell of the book. Furthermore, this also creates an interactive aspect to the book as news papers don’t usually have that. The end pages are also from the newspaper however they have been printed normally onto the white card. This occurs at the front and the back of the book. The images have been printed onto matt, thick photography paper. This allows for that old fashion feeling which is consistent through out the book. The images are all double page spreads, this allows for the images to  stand out more and personally I think they are more aesthetically pleasing when they have been printed larger. The book is a large portrait which means its signifciatnly larger than a standard portrait photo book. The book is also quite heavy due to the size of the book. The title is very literal and is straight to the point (once translated)  of this specific theme of the book and is clearly seen throughout the whole book. I think the way Mark has placed some of the images in the book he is trying to create juxtaposition between two subjects. For example; between the police and normal people. The police are trying to control them and do their job whereas, the people are celebrating due to the fact that wall has been taken down.

Narrative: What is your story?
Describe in:

• 3 words

Surveillance, Watched, Paranoia

• A sentence

The developments of surveillance are slowly causing a common paranoia amongst those within society.

• A paragraphs

For this ‘political landscape’ project I am focusing on the theme of surveillance, and how surveillance actually effects the general public, in both positive or negative ways. Particularly how mass surveillance and the ‘big brother theory’ causes a common paranoia and feeling of insecurity within the general public, and how the awareness of this can cause an impact on the public’s trust of authority. The rapid developments in surveillance is also something which is evidently adding to this and will also therefore be explored in my work.

Design: Consider the following

• How you want your book to look and feel

I would like my book to look and feel of a high and lasting quality, using a hardback cover and premium matte photo paper inside.

• Paper and ink
  

I would like matte white paper as I believe that when looking at a range of other photo books this kind of paper has a high quality feel and look. Also this kind of paper works with a range of different images (colour and black & white) and as i intend to use a range of photos with very different aesthetic qualities, I believe that this will work best.

• Format, size and orientation.

7×7 inch Square

• Binding and cover
  

I would like my book to have a standard case binding, and I would like it to have a hardback cover.

• Title 

”Watch Out”

• Design and layout

Some images will be best as full page spreads (single or double), some images will look best with boarders and some will look best grouped together, and therefore I am not going to limit myself by completely sticking to one uniformed layout and will instead lay out my photographs in the way which I believe individually best suits them.

• Editing and sequencing

The sequencing of images in the book I intend to follow a narrative of how surveillance is evolving/developing. So as the book continues the images represent closer and more personal forms of  surveillance, such as surveillance through our own devices. Whereas in the beginning it will look at visual forms of surveillance (birds) and then early forms of technological surveillance (CCTV etc.)

Paragraph 2 Structure (500 words) : Use subheading. In the first sentence or opening sentences, link the paragraph to the previous paragraph, then introduce the main idea of the new paragraph. Other sentences develop the paragraphs subject (use relevant examples, quotations, visuals to illustrate your analysis, thoughts etc)

Content: you could look at the following...Introduce your first photographer. Select key images, ideas or concepts and analyse in-depth using specific model of analysis (describe, interpret and evaluate) – refer to your hypothesis. Contextualise…what was going on in the world at the time; artistically, politically, socially, culturally. Other influences…artists, teachers, mentors etc. Personal situations or circumstances…describe key events in the artist’s life that may have influenced the work. Include examples of your own photographs, experiments or early responses and analyse, relate and link to the above. Set the scene for next paragraph.

Include relevant examples, illustrations, details, quotations, and references showing evidence of reading, knowledge and understanding of history, theory and context!

This image depicts the remnants of a partially burnt plastic flower, collected from Carrigaloe estuary, Cove of Cork, Ireland.

• The item is captured using a slow shutter speed representing the movement of individual plankton in a water column, which also parallels with the planets that have an apparent motion of their own.
• Captured in a circle on a black background, a re-occuring theme amongst the series, it resembles a planet like

The “plankton” specimens in this work are beautifully photographed objects of marine plastic debris, recovered from the same location as naturalist John Vaughan Thompson’s plankton samples from 200 years ago.

Sophie Calle – Suite Vénitienne 

Technical:

The lighting used for this photograph is natural daylight as the photo does not seem to be staged despite the unusual occurrences within the image. The image was most likely taken in the aside of it being midday as the light is not overpowering, and the exposure used for the image seems to be fairly balanced as the lighter tones such as the edges of the steps are balanced and contrast with the darker tones in the image such as the door and the coated man by the camera.

Visual:

The photograph has various visual aspects starting with the composition; the viewer is immediately drawn to the dark figure in the forefront of the frame as the figure takes up a considerable bit of space and catches your eye straight away. The eye of the viewer is likely to go from their backwards through the image passing from the stairs to the two other people, to the door and then to the background of the image where the buildings overlook the Venice canals.  As you can see the image is in black and white, most likely due to the date of the project despite colour photography being around at the time. However this may have been done as a means of creating a mysterious or eerie feel to the photographs as the idea of following a stranger around reflects this.

Contextual:

This image was part of a book by Calle called Suite Vénitienne, in which she met a man, at a party who said he was moving to Venice, so she moved to Venice and there, she began to follow him. Calle documented her attempts at following the man. She phoned hundreds of hotels, even visited the police station, to find out where it was that he was staying, and persuaded a woman who lived opposite to let her photograph him from her window. The photographs which she took for this project show the back of a coated man as he walks around Venice, the city making for a beautiful aesthetic backdrop to her internalized mission.

Conceptual:

The concept behind this photograph, as a part of project consisting of similar images, is that it is documenting the process of Calle stalking the man (subject) around Venice. This photograph however focuses on multiple human subjects despite the main body of the project consisting of the man in question being the main subject within the images.